Best Gumbo Recipes

[DuneAHH]

Well Gang....
Thanks to all your help, suggestions, food shopping sources (Shrimpers was the ticket for andouille & tasso as well as shrimp), and on-line links; the "maiden gumbo voyage" is simmering on the stove at this very minute!! Of course I'm not going to truly indulge until TOMORROW on SJ's recommendation!
For one thing, after all the recipe comparisons, shopping, chopping & prep; I'm too pooped to even think about indulging in gumbo tonite!!

But...it looks (& sample tastes) like it will be glorious! Rich thick dark chocolate brown roux just the way I love it... but OY-VAY what a major Pain in the Arse making that roux was... I was so intimidated about burning & spoiling it that I spent over 30 minutes on the roux alone.

Elgordoboy...I found a back door into www.nowalcuisine.com and got the downlow on cooking roux. Per the blog, the critical factor is going
S-S-L-L-O-O-W-W and drinking (I subbed wine for beer) at each change of color!!!

I had plenty of time to ponder over how old-timey 18th-19th century cooks could find time to sit around stirring roux for hours on end when just carrying & boiling water was a major ta-doo...

THANKS to All of YOU!! Bon Appetit!!

 

[DD]

Can't wait to hear how it turns out!!! You go girl!

 

[seacrestkristi]

I just copied some good soundin' stuff. Nice roux shots, drsvelte. Do you ever use Kitchen Bouquet to darken up your roux? Was the darker pix just bacon grease or smoked meat grease? In other words, was just the flour cooking longer that got it that dark?
Maybe I'll go check out this other NOLA link too. Thanks for the grayt soundin' recipes ya'll.

 

[drsvelte]

Was the darker pix just bacon grease or smoked meat grease? In other words, was just the flour cooking longer that got it that dark?

Just plain old flour and vegetable oil! The trick, as Dune-AHH found out, is to take your time and don't rush things. The first pix is after maybe 10-15 minutes, the second after about 20 minutes or so. Medium heat and lottsa stirring and whisking.

 

[DuneAHH]

I just copied some good soundin' stuff. Nice roux shots, drsvelte. Do you ever use Kitchen Bouquet to darken up your roux? Was the darker pix just bacon grease or smoked meat grease? In other words, was just the flour cooking longer that got it that dark?
Maybe I'll go check out this other NOLA link too. Thanks for the grayt soundin' recipes ya'll.

I started to use bacon grease ... but then I wimped out, because everything I'd read about making roux noted that you should start with a very clean pan & if you see black specks forming in the roux then it's burnt and must be thrown out. Since this was my first attempt I was afraid I wouldn't know the difference between bacon bits and burnt bits ... so I scrapped using the bacon grease, cleaned the skillet & instead used LARD as the fat.

DrSvelte's pictures helped alot

 

[seacrestkristi]

Okay, do ya'll just eyeball it or do you meaure your flour and vegetable oil and or lard and/or drippings? How do you keep it from getting lumpy when you add to the stock? Any tricks would be appreciated. That sure sounds good that way. I guess I've always quit before it got good and really chocolatey brown. I'm gonna try it. Thanks ya'll. I think Publix has some head on shrimp up here in Tennesse.
Also, tell me more about tasso please. I went to the link. Thanks. How much would you put in your pot of red beans and rice? Is it hot or just spicy like salt pork or country bacon? I gotta try this.

 

[DuneAHH]

Okay, do ya'll just eyeball it or do you meaure your flour and vegetable oil and or lard and/or drippings? How do you keep it from getting lumpy when you add to the stock? Any tricks would be appreciated. That sure sounds good that way. I guess I've always quit before it got good and really chocolatey brown. I'm gonna try it. Thanks ya'll. I think Publix has some head on shrimp up here in Tennesse.
Also, tell me more about tasso please. I went to the link. Thanks. How much would you put in your pot of red beans and rice? Is it hot or just spicy like salt pork or country bacon? I gotta try this.

Approx. 1 - 1 ratio of fat to flour. But slowly add the flour to the hot fat ...
maybe sprinkling 1/4 of the flour at a time & whisking that in well before adding more.

My roux was the color of Dr.Svelte's darker photo. It turned dark chocolate once I added the trinity to the roux. I actually took the roux off the burner, then added the trinity & stirred like hail. There was so much heat in the roux it continued cooking...because once I added the trinity, while the roux was glossy & shiny on the surface, it started getting "fudgey" on the bottom of the cast iron skillet even though I was stirring & folding like a mad woman.

I added the stock TO the roux / trinity mixture after that had cooked for a little while (maybe 5-8 minutes) ... a little stock at a time, constantly whisking to incorporate. I started by incorporating about 1/4 of stock to the roux/trinity still in the hot skillet (over med. low burner). Then I transferred that thinned out base to the big soup pot before finishing incorporating the balance of the stock. (Keep in mind...this was my 1st attempt ... so I may have made it more labor intensive than an experienced gumbo maker would)

IMO Tasso is spicy, but not "hot" per se. I like to chop & saute it before adding (though that's not required because it's cured). I like alot of meat in red beans & rice... so if the recipe calls for 1/2lb., I double that by
mixing meats: 1/2 lb. of sliced sausage + 1/2 lb of chopped tasso. That's just me, tho ... I like my red beans & rice all mushed together, thick and sticky like the consistency of jambalaya.

 

[elgordoboy]

Hot roux and cold stock. It can be added all at once and you get no lumps.

 

[DuneAHH]

Hot roux and cold stock. It can be added all at once and you get no lumps.

I read about that (and conversely cold roux / hot stock) ...
technically, why does it work (or how do it know)?
and does cold mean "refrigerator cold" ... or just "room temp cold"?

 

[elgordoboy]

The cold means just not hot in my experience, room temp has always worked fine. I think when the hot stock is added to hot roux it maybe cooks the outside quicker making little bitty dumplings (lumps). Cold roux perhaps gives it time to dissolve and incorporate. Cold stock and hot roux..roux dissolves before the whole things heats up and begins thickening. Cold-Cold I dunno maybe it wouldn't incorporate well and will separate. I have only had personal experience with the hot hot (strained gravies) and hot roux cold stock.